For immediate release Contact: Sue Davis
Sue Davis Communications
March 23, 2002 713-723-6011/713-392-6011 (cell)
Keep Houston Beautiful Day is March 23rd
Projects Planned Throughout the City
Prepare to be swept away! March 23rd is Keep Houston Beautiful Day.
Hundreds of volunteers will spread out over the city-picking up litter, painting over graffiti and landscaping. Working with Mayor Lee Brown and City Council, Keep Houston Beautiful is helping community organizations plan their projects and is supplying mowers, tools, garbage bags and paint.
This year a special emphasis will be placed on removing bandit signs. Known as “litter on a stick,” bandit signs are those lightweight advertising signs usually made from paper, cardboard or corrugated plastic, that are often illegally posted or placed on public property. In addition to creating visual blight, bandit signs decrease the perceived value of our neighborhoods and create potential hazards for pedestrians traveling along rights of way.
Houston’s At-Large City Councilmembers will be working with the city’s Sign Administration Sign Busters on Keep Houston Beautiful Day to pick up those bandit signs at five locations around the city.
Another focus for Keep Houston Beautiful Day is the Liberty Garden. Houstonians are being asked to create special places of natural beauty in public areas that will celebrate patriotism and honor the memory of those who perished in the events on September 11th. The Liberty Garden can be red, white and blue flowers or a place where a new tree is planted or an existing tree re-dedicated to this purpose. As part of Keep Houston Beautiful Day, a Liberty Garden will be planted at Historic Oaks of Allen Parkway Village.“Keep Houston Beautiful Day is a wonderful time for neighbors to join together to make their communities more livable,” said Bill Linthicum, Chair of Keep Houston Beautiful. “We urge everyone to join in effort and bring some beauty into your community.”
Keep Houston Beautiful Day is part of the Great American Cleanup 2002. This eight-week project aims to turn local eyesores into community treasures. Volunteers are invited to join a sanctioned site or plan a project on their own anytime during the Great American Cleanup. Keep Houston Beautiful will provide free trash bags for organized group efforts.
The Great American Cleanup takes place from mid-March through mid-May and is expected to mobilize more than two million volunteers across the country. Additional activities are planned in Houston over the next few weeks, including the Little Kids Litter Party and Recycle Art, Lawyers Against Waste, Keep 5 Alive in the Fifth Ward and National Youth Service Day.
To learn more about Keep Houston Beautiful Day or to get help with your own project, please call 713-839-8855 or visit the website at www.houstonbeautiful.org.
Presenting Sponsors for Keep Houston Beautiful Day include Republic Waste and the Mayor’s Clean Neighborhoods Program. Supporters include: Houston Coca-Cola Bottling, Jason’s Deli, Krispy Kreme Donuts, Waste Management, BFI Waste Services of Texas, City of Houston Parks & Recreation Department, Solid Waste Management Department and Neighborhood Protection Division.
Sponsors for the Great American Cleanup 2002 include: National Sponsors GAIN Laundry Detergent, Green Forest Recycled Paper Products from Georgia-Pacific, Pepsi-Cola Company, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company and Yard-Man by MTD; Retail Sponsors: Hy-Vee, Inc., The Kroger Company and Publix Super Markets, Inc.; Educational Partners: America Online, Scrap Tire Management Council and Songmasters-The American Road.
Sanctioned Sites (as of March 6)
District A - Bruce Tatro
Project: Long Point Cleanup
Volunteer Groups: Spring Branch Revitalization Association, HPD Community Storefront,
MetroNational, Waste Management, Super Neiborhoods West and Central, Weingarten
Realty, Igloo Products, Lovett Homes, Korean-American groups
Kickoff sites: Haden Park, 1404 Witte; Korean Restaurant, Blalock at Long Point;
8845 Long Point, next to Ring Library; 8400 Long Point, parking lot next to
Nations Bank; Weingarten Realty property, Wirt at Long Point
Maureen Mulrooney - 713-461-0766
Deborah Flores - 713-247-2010
District B - Carol Mims Galloway
Project: Tree planting
Lincoln Park, 790 Little York
Volunteer Groups: Housing Authority, TSU Students
Gary Woods - 281-474-4507
District C - Mark Goldberg
Project #1: Cleanup of Fondren Southwest
Volunteer Groups: New Braeswood Revitalization Association, Fondren Division
Police Dept., Northfield III POA; Braeburn Valley HOA; Welch Middle School,
Lamb of God Church
Kickoff sites: Crystal Falls Apartments, 10950 Westbrea Parkway; St. Alberts
Church, 10027 Gessner; Fondren at Willowbend
Ruth Hurst - 713-776-2760
Project #2: Adopt a Block
Burnett-Bayland Park Pavilion
Volunteer Group: Volunteer Houston
Project #3: Maplewood ditch cleaning
Volunteer Group: Congregation Beth Israel
(takes place on Sunday, March 24)
District D - Ada Edwards
Project: De-littering, ditch cleaning in Sunnyside Gardens, Bayou Estates
Volunteer Groups: Sunnyside Gardens/Bayou Estates Civic Club, Sunnyside Multiservice
Center Advisory Board, Whole Life Worship Center, Grace and Mercy Ministries,
Southeast Coalition of Civic Clubs
Kickoff site: Sunnyside MultiService Center, 4605 Wilmington
Shannon Hudson - 713-264-6093
Sandra Berry - 713-520-7711
District E: Addie Wiseman
Project: Liberty Garden and de-littering, Garden Villas Park
Volunteer groups: Garden Villas, Park Advisory Council, Boy Scouts
Kickoff site: Garden Villas Park, 6720 Haywood
Contact: Manuel Rodriguez, 713-498-4649
District F - Mark Ellis
Project: De-littering in Alief-Bellaire and Bissonnet streets
Volunteer groups: Alief Super Neighborhood, Alief Community Association, Save
Alief, Houston Community College, churches, scouts
Kickoff sites: 14501 Bellaire; 13803 Bissonnet
Karen Bracht-North - 281-498-8974
District G - Bert Keller
Project: De-littering in Tanglewood Park
Volunteer Group: River Oaks Advisory Council
Kickoff site: Tanglewood Park Pavilion, 5801 Woodway at Bering
Contact: Thomas Keeling, 713-643-0843
District H - Gabriel Vasquez
Project: Graffiti paintout, de-littering, planting flowers on Irvington
Volunteer groups: Lindale Park Civic Club, North Lindale Park Civic Club
Kickoff site: Lindale Park Civic Clubhouse, 218 Joyce
Ed Reyes - 713-753-3715
District I - Carol Alvarado
Project: Liberty Garden at Historic Oaks at Allen Parkway
Volunteer groups: Residents at Historic Oaks, Dominion Exploration and Production,
Keep Houston Beautiful Youth Advisory Board
Travis Sanford - 713-260-0771
At Large Councilmembers
Bandit Sign Cleanup with City’s Sign Busters
Position 1 -Annise Parker
Montrose
Kickoff site: Hubbard Financial Services, 2615 Montrose
Position 2 - Gordon Quan
Fondren Southwest
Kickoff site: Metro Bank, 9600 Bellaire
Position 3 - Shelley Sekula Rodriguez
Highway 290/Northwest
Kickoff site: Luby’s, 11250 Northwest Freeway
Position 4 - Michael Berry
Willowbrook Mall area
Kickoff site: McDonald’s
Position 5 - Carroll G. Robinson
W. Fuqua/W. Orem/Post Oak
Kickoff site: HPD Storefront on W. Fuqua